How to solve unpredictability of NC sessions? Limit, expand time in Raleigh among options

RALEIGH, North Carolina — Another annual meeting of the North Carolina General Assembly is poised again to end late in the summer, with lawmakers dug in for negotiations on the state budget, incentives and Medicaid.

But will they stay even longer?

No one really knows when the session will end because North Carolina doesn't set formal restrictions on how long the House and Senate can meet in any year. It's one of 11 similar states.

Some lawmakers argue mandating session length limits in the law would bring predictability for lawmakers seeking business and personal time back home. Others suggest a full-time Legislature might be more appropriate for a state of 10 million people — the ninth largest in the country.